Baylor's dream season meets Arkansas in super regional

Updated 11:56 pm, Friday, June 8, 2012

Baylor's Dan Evatt has been a force at the plate this season. He is third on the team in batting average (.340) and second in home runs (eight).

Baylor's Dan Evatt has been a force at the plate this season. He is third on the team in batting average (.340) and second in home runs (eight).

Photo: Rod Aydelotte

Baylor's dream season meets Arkansas in super regional

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Two titanic dynamics, one in the middle of the season and the other fresh on the Baylor faithful's memory, point to this as a season of destiny for the Bears.

The first came when Baylor wove a 24-game winning streak from March 16 to April 22, longest in the 16-year history of the Big 12. The second occurred when the Bears, who at one point had achieved the program's first top ranking, lost their opener of the Waco Regional to Oral Roberts - then beat the odds by winning their next four elimination games.

Goals to meet

"We have tons of team and individual goals that we set at the beginning of the year," said Baylor outfielder Dan Evatt, third on the team with a .340 batting average. "We've stuck to that path and are one-pitch warriors."

The Bears intend for that path to continue along the banks of the Brazos River starting Saturday, when they host Arkansas in a super regional of the NCAA tournament. First pitch at Baylor Ballpark is 4 p.m. for the former Southwest Conference foes that haven't played since 1998.

Baylor (48-15) is trying to make its first College World Series since 2005; the Razorbacks (42-19) are aiming for their trip to Omaha, Neb., since 2009. Neither program has won a national title.

"In a super regional, you have three games to get it done," said Razorbacks pitcher DJ Baxendale (7-4), who's scheduled to earn the start Saturday against Baylor's Trent Blank (10-1). "It's just like a normal weekend series, and the first game is always the most important. It takes control of the series and lets you control your destiny."

Pitching, as usual under former Bears pitcher and longtime coach Steve Smith, has been a strength for Baylor, which won its third Big 12 title with six league games remaining on the 24-game Big 12 schedule (following an 18-0 conference start).

"We know how talented Baylor is, and they have an experienced team," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. "They're going to run some really good pitching out against us, and offensively it doesn't look like there's a weak spot in that order."

Homecoming

This weekend also marks a homecoming for Van Horn, a former McLennan Community College standout who transferred to Arkansas in the early 1980s.

"This is a great part of Texas," Van Horn said. "There are a lot of good players here and a lot of good baseball people here. It's always fun coming back to Waco."

Meanwhile the Bears, seemingly a team of destiny, are aiming to get out of Waco for a time later this month - and pay a visit to Omaha.